Startup Games: Level Up Kicks off Saturday at Fair Market

In Austin, startups do eventually become big businesses but that that doesn’t mean they still don’t like to have fun.

And that’s the reason behind the second annual Startup Games: Level Up event, which takes place Saturday at Fair Market and features ten bigger companies competing against each other in games like ping pong, foosball, beer pong, flip cup, dodge ball and more.

Silicon Hills News covered the first Startup Olympics held at uShip in 2012. uShip won the games, followed by BuildASign and Sparefoot.

Last year, BuildASign.com won the gold at the Startup Games: Level Up. It will return this year to defend its championship. Newcomers to this year’s games include Accruent, Spiceworks, Spredfast and The Honest Company.

Saturday’s event expects to raise $42,000 in charitable donations, double the amount from last year, according to a press release. Each team plays for the charity of their choice. The event is open to the public with a suggested $10 donation at the door.

“Level Up brings together companies that “grew up” in Austin and are still actively involved in giving back to the community. Many of this year’s competitors even once played in the Startup Games, and though they’ve graduated past the startup stage, Level Up gives them an opportunity to keep having fun with the culture of charitable giving they instilled in employees early on,” Douglas Ray, Startup Games Director of Events, said in a news release.

Here is the full list of competitors and the charities they’ve chosen to support:

Accruent – Charity: Habitat for Humanity

Bigcommerce – Charity: Stupid Cancer

BuildASign – Charity: Lung Cancer Alliance

Drillinginfo – Charity: The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

HomeAway – Charity: Mobile Loaves & Fishes: Community First

Main Street Hub – Charity: Austin Pets Alive

RetailMeNot – Charity: Boys & Girls Club of Austin

Spiceworks – Charity: Championship Hearts Foundation

Spredfast – Charity: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas

The Honest Company – Charity: Ronald McDonald House CTX

“Startup Games has been very successful combining philanthropy with networking and friendly competition,” Sara Levy, Startup Games Executive Director, said in a news release. “Startup Games raised more than $57,000 this January, and we hope to reach a total of $100,000 raised this year after Level Up.”

Levy is also executive director of the Notley Fund, the philanthropic investment firm behind the Startup Games.

Correction: The Startup Games seeks to raise $42,000 this year for charities, double the amount raised last year. We regret the error.